Access openings in warehouse, manufacturing and industrial settings are often secured by overhead (vertically traveling) closures.
Overhead coiling closures are, for example, slatted doors, such as rolling steel doors, which move in a generally vertical path coiling above the opening as the door is opened. Because overhead coiling closures have many fewer parts than sectional doors with less risk for damage and inoperability they often make a better solution for facilities that cannot afford opening downtime.
An overhead coiling closure is either provided with a powered operator to power the door to an open or closed position or it is manually opened and closed with, for example, a looped chain or crank. A shaft is horizontally mounted above the access opening to wind or unwind the coiling closure. The coiling shaft and operator (if present) are usually covered by a hood.
When doors are installed in high traffic areas, for example, shipping and receiving areas the hood and its contents can get damaged if struck by a fork lift transporting cargo. This damage can be caused not only by the forklift itself, but also by the cargo being trucked by the lift. If the hood or its contents become damaged the coiling closure may become non-operational with resultant access opening downtime.
Accordingly, there is still a continuing need for improved designs to protect a coiling closure hood and its contents. The present invention fulfills this need and further provides related advantages.